This Midwestern city has one of those inspiring combinations of small-town values and the cultural amenities of a major metropolis. Kansas City is home to the largest WWI memorial and museum in the country. When President Calvin Coolidge dedicated the adjacent Liberty Memorial in 1921, it marked the first — and only — time that Allied military leaders were together in one place. Perhaps even more importantly, KC, as the locals call it, has made an indelible mark on American culture, notably in jazz and barbecue.